You don’t think I’d let Christmas go by without posting Gesu Bambino by Pavarotti–did you? Perish the thought!
And here he’s got help from the Wandsworth School Boys’ Choir and the National Philharmonic Orchestra. You’ve gotta love it!
Category: religion
By Request, ‘Mary, Did You Know?’
I got a couple of requests for this hymn today. Well, first come, first served. This one, requested by “Someone” (which “Someone” is that? Is everybody getting bashful? Performed by Pentatonix.
Oxford Mathematician Torpedoes Atheism
I used to love being a debater in high school and college; but I think I had more patience then. It’s like, you can throw logic and truth at certain people from now till Doomsday… and nothing happens. They won’t hear you. They don’t want to hear you. That gets frustrating.
But I would never ask debaters to give up debating–who knows whom they might be reaching?
Mathematics professor John Lennox, lecturing at Oxford in this video, once again hit atheism with a belt of logic. Christianity is reasonable. And atheism, when all is said and done, is not. It never stops contradicting itself.
So some of us have the gift of persuasion. Good Lord, see the Biblical example of St. Paul! No hostile audience had the power to silence him.He’d stand up and preach the truth in front of anybody.
And yes, we should indeed be thankful for those who have that gift.
I don’t know how many students Professor Lennox converted with his speech; but that would be up to God the Holy Spirit. We, His servants… serve.
‘The Wexford Carol’
Voice and cello, Alison Krauss and Yo-Yo Ma–a wonderful treatment of the Wexford Carol. And with bagpipes, too! I love the combination.
Let’s keep our Christmas going!
By Request, ‘Christmas Canon’
I’ve never, until now, heard the words that go with this beautiful melody. Thanks to Thewhiterabbit for sharing it with us on Facebook. Performed by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.
We’re going to keep taking Christmas music requests. I think till New Year’s.
One More Christmas Carol
I was about to close up shop for the day, but I couldn’t resist Good King Wenceslas as performed by the Irish Rovers.
Just for the record, Wenceslas wasn’t a king; he was the Duke of Bohemia. And he’s also a saint. That’s better than a king.
‘Good Christian Men Rejoice’
It took me a night and two days to remember the title of this carol, but I got it, finally, while I was having my cigar: Good Christian Men Rejoice, performed by the choir and congregation at Grace Community Church.
I love the way this sounds, when played outdoors in the snow by a street band.
Beyond Christmas Day
I missed almost all the run-up to Christmas, and I couldn’t see my way to setting up a carol contest. But hang it all, I want my Christmas! I want the Christmas spirit to dwell here for a while.
So I’ll keep on taking and post Christmas hymn requests. Ask for your favorite carols: I’ll keep at it till New Year’s.
Here’s one of mine: I Saw Three Ships Come Sailing. Yes, I do know you can’t actually sail a ship to Bethlehem. But how badly does that matter?
By Request,’Silent Night’
Well, we couldn’t let Christmas go by without posting Silent Night, could we? Thanks, Phoebe, for requesting it.
Here we have it from the choir at Kings College, Cambridge.
Christmas Day, 2024
Bunny, you’ve shown us the way: enjoy a nice nap under the Christmas tree.
We don’t have a Christmas tree this year, and I’m probably lucky to be here at all–dangerous illness and all that. This is only my seventh day home, and I have a very long way to go to recovery. Meanwhile, no wreath, no lights
And yet it feels like Christmas! How can that be? My family has died out or moved far away, I’m in no condition to put up any decorations, I wasn’t able to buy any presents… Why does it still feel so much like Christmas?
The grace of God in Jesus Christ our King: that’s the only answer that occurs to me.